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Reposted by Dr Elsje van Bergen

Cedric Boeckx @cedricboeckx.bsky.social · 1d

Very interesting set of reflections on developmental language & reading disorders, across layers of analysis, by @drelsje.bsky.social
@nickyjdawson.bsky.social @emljames.bsky.social @salonikrishnan.bsky.social
(With many good references to @deevybee.bsky.social’s important work) 🧪🧬🧠🗣️

Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 2d

🧩Learning to talk & read isn’t just about effort or teaching—it’s shaped by biology, experience & context

🧠Our new review links genetics, neuroscience, psychology & education to show why some children find language or reading easier.

📖 doi.org/10.31234/osf...

🖼️genes→brain→cognition→behaviour 🧵👇

Figure 2 in the review: Levels of analysis from genes and brain systems to cognition and behaviour.
The child both influences and is influenced by parents through genetically shaped interactions, and by the wider school and social environment.
Figure design by Neil Usher.
Figure from this review paper: https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/w23yz_v1

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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 1d

Thank you Cedric, that's great to hear! Yes, we have all been personally inspired by @deevybee.bsky.social . I worked in her lab as a postdoc 2012-15 @medsci.ox.ac.uk .

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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 1d

I can’t make it, but I’ve forwarded it to my team :)

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Reposted by Dr Elsje van Bergen

AFKA Weltgeist Redux @wolfgangwalter.bsky.social · 2d

Science as it should be - a photo says more than 1000 words!

Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 2d

👩‍🔬 Review paper by me @nickyjdawson.bsky.social @emljames.bsky.social @salonikrishnan.bsky.social; figures by Neil Usher doi.org/10.31234/osf...
🖼️ writing retreat
Grateful to Kate Nation @kateewatkins.bsky.social Courtenay Norbury & @orbenamy.bsky.social for bringing us together

🧵☝️ (end of thread)

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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 2d

👩‍🔬 Review paper by me @nickyjdawson.bsky.social @emljames.bsky.social @salonikrishnan.bsky.social; figures by Neil Usher doi.org/10.31234/osf...
🖼️ writing retreat
Grateful to Kate Nation @kateewatkins.bsky.social Courtenay Norbury & @orbenamy.bsky.social for bringing us together

🧵☝️ (end of thread)

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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 2d

📖 Read the full open-access review: doi.org/10.31234/osf...

#OpenScience #LanguageDevelopment #ReadingDisorders #Dyslexia #DevLangDis #EducationalNeuroscience #BehaviouralGenetics #Cognition #Neurodevelopment #Education #Intervention We were former postdocs at @oxexppsy.bsky.social

OSF

doi.org

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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 2d

💬 This paper grew from a special issue celebrating Professor @deevybee.bsky.social—four of us invited from different fields for a “scientific blind date.”

That spark became a truly interdisciplinary review.
📖 doi.org/10.31234/osf...

🖼️ writing retreat, Wellcome Collection (London)

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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 2d

🔄 Interventions don’t just apply research—they test and refine it.

By linking theory, evidence & practice, we learn which mechanisms drive change and how to make support effective in real settings.

📖 doi.org/10.31234/osf...

🖼️ theory↔research↔practice cycle
By @nickyjdawson.bsky.social

Circular diagram showing the feedback loop between theory, research, and practice in developing and improving reading and language interventions.
Arrows connect theory→research→practice→theory, illustrating iterative refinement.
Figure from this review paper: https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/w23yz_v1
Figure design by Neil Usher.

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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 2d

🧩Learning new words relies first on the hippocampus, then shifts to long-term storage in the neocortex

Over time, memory reorganisation turns new knowledge into lasting vocabulary—showing why studying learning over time matters

📖 doi.org/10.31234/osf... @emljames.bsky.social
🖼️hippocampus→neocortex

Diagram showing two memory systems: the hippocampus (pink) supports initial word learning; the neocortex (green) stores consolidated knowledge.
Over time, new words shift from hippocampal to cortical representations.
Illustrates gradual learning and memory reorganisation.
Figure design by Neil Usher in https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/w23yz_v1

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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 2d

🧠 Language & reading rely on networks across the brain—no single “reading area.”

Both cortical regions (like the superior temporal gyrus & inferior frontal gyrus) and deeper structures (like the striatum) contribute to learning.

🖼️ cortical & subcortical language networks

📖 doi.org/10.31234/osf...

Brain diagrams showing regions involved in language and reading: superior temporal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, and lateral occipital cortex with the visual word form area.
Also shows the striatum and white-matter tracts for dorsal (red/cyan) and ventral (brown/green/blue/yellow) processing streams.
Figure design by Neil Usher, adapted from Asaridou & Watkins (2020). Figure from this review paper: https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/w23yz_v1

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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 2d

🏠 Language & reading often “run in families” — not just through shared environment, but also through shared genes.

Parents pass on both DNA & experiences. Their own traits shape the home & how they interact with children — creating gene–environment correlations.

🖼️ child ↔ parents ↔ broader context

Diagram showing bidirectional influences among child, parents, and environment.
Parents pass on genes and provide experiences influenced by their own traits.
The child both influences and is influenced by family, school, and society.
Figure design by Neil Usher.
Figure from this review paper: https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/w23yz_v1

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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 2d

🧬 Language & reading show moderate to high heritability—differences among children are partly inherited.

A polygenic score sums thousands of tiny DNA effects to estimate genetic propensity, but it’s not destiny: environment & chance still matter.

🖼️ many small variants → one polygenic score

A polygenic score (PGS) estimates an individual’s genetic propensity for a trait.
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) identify small effects (β) of many single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).
Each person’s PGS is the sum of their trait-associated alleles weighted by these effects, forming a normal distribution.
Figure design by Neil Usher, adapted from Hart, Little & van Bergen (2021, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41539-020-00079-z).
Figure from this review paper: https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/w23yz_v1

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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 2d

📊 Language & reading skills form a continuum—not two groups of “typical” vs “disordered”

Conditions like dyslexia or developmental language disorder (DLD) reflect the lower end of normal variation in these skills, not distinct categories

🖼️ continuous distribution of ability, with cut-offs shown

Language and reading skills are normally distributed.
Children in the lower tail may meet criteria for dyslexia or developmental language disorder (DLD).
Percentile scores (top) and standard-deviation cut-offs (bottom) show typical thresholds (e.g., bottom 7 % or < –1.5 SD).
Figure design by Neil Usher.

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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 2d

🧩Learning to talk & read isn’t just about effort or teaching—it’s shaped by biology, experience & context

🧠Our new review links genetics, neuroscience, psychology & education to show why some children find language or reading easier.

📖 doi.org/10.31234/osf...

🖼️genes→brain→cognition→behaviour 🧵👇

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Reposted by Dr Elsje van Bergen

KOJAMF🤘🖤🤘 @kojamf.bsky.social · 3d

Dr. Jane Goodall filmed an interview with Netflix in March 2025 that she understood would only be released after her death.

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Reposted by Dr Elsje van Bergen

Sam Wang @samwang.bsky.social · 16d

Once more: the best evidence shows that Tylenol taken during pregnancy is not harmful. **This question is settled.** The benefit of reducing discomfort and fever is extremely important at a time when the fetus is developing.

Pregnant women - Tylenol is safe.
sciencebasedmedicine.org/tylenol-and-...

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Reposted by Dr Elsje van Bergen

Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 19d

👉Behaviour genetics infographics www.nature.com/articles/s41...
👉ADHD, dyslexia & dyscalculia doi.org/10.1177/0956...
👉ADHD runs in families doi.org/10.1017/S003...
👉Education runs in families osf.io/preprints/ps...
Hosted warmly at @citystgeorges.bsky.social by Ansgar Endress & Katrina May Dulay 🙏

Nurture might be nature: cautionary tales and proposed solutions - npj Science of Learning

npj Science of Learning - Nurture might be nature: cautionary tales and proposed solutions

www.nature.com

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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 18d

✨ A special week in Oxford ✨

invited talk in London
collaborations at Psychiatry & Psychology
Neurodiversity conference
training with Oxford Acrobatics 🤸‍♀️
and catching up with mentors & icons @deevybee.bsky.social & Maggie Snowling
📸 Staying at a College never loses its magic!

#OHbrcNDconference

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Reposted by Dr Elsje van Bergen

Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 19d

Had the pleasure to talk in London, on my way to Oxford 🎓!
👉 ADHD, dyslexia & dyscalculia co-occur due to genetic risks
👉 ADHD runs in families mostly via genetic transmission:
👉 Educational achievement runs in families because genetics dominate, though parents and relatives still matter
🔗 Links 👇

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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 19d

Thanks Hope ☺️

Reposted by Dr Elsje van Bergen

Hope Sparks @hope-sparks.bsky.social · 19d

Always a good read with excellent figures 🙂

Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 19d

👉Behaviour genetics infographics www.nature.com/articles/s41...
👉ADHD, dyslexia & dyscalculia doi.org/10.1177/0956...
👉ADHD runs in families doi.org/10.1017/S003...
👉Education runs in families osf.io/preprints/ps...
Hosted warmly at @citystgeorges.bsky.social by Ansgar Endress & Katrina May Dulay 🙏

Nurture might be nature: cautionary tales and proposed solutions - npj Science of Learning

npj Science of Learning - Nurture might be nature: cautionary tales and proposed solutions

www.nature.com

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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 19d

👉Behaviour genetics infographics www.nature.com/articles/s41...
👉ADHD, dyslexia & dyscalculia doi.org/10.1177/0956...
👉ADHD runs in families doi.org/10.1017/S003...
👉Education runs in families osf.io/preprints/ps...
Hosted warmly at @citystgeorges.bsky.social by Ansgar Endress & Katrina May Dulay 🙏

Nurture might be nature: cautionary tales and proposed solutions - npj Science of Learning

npj Science of Learning - Nurture might be nature: cautionary tales and proposed solutions

www.nature.com

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Dr Elsje van Bergen @drelsje.bsky.social · 19d

Had the pleasure to talk in London, on my way to Oxford 🎓!
👉 ADHD, dyslexia & dyscalculia co-occur due to genetic risks
👉 ADHD runs in families mostly via genetic transmission:
👉 Educational achievement runs in families because genetics dominate, though parents and relatives still matter
🔗 Links 👇

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Reposted by Dr Elsje van Bergen

Abdel Abdellaoui @dr-appie.bsky.social · 21d

The largest study on late life virginity, based on >400k individuals, out now in @pnas.org

Open access link: pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Shoutout to shared first author @laurawesseldijk.bsky.social ❤️

Thread below 👇🏽

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Reposted by Dr Elsje van Bergen

Josi Bernardo @josefina-bernardo.bsky.social · Sep 3

Come join me at @rladiesamsterdam.bsky.social 💜

R-Ladies Amsterdam @rladiesamsterdam.bsky.social · Sep 3

WE WANT YOU! 🫵

Our organiser @kylieainslie.bsky.social is leaving us to go Down Under. 🦘 We're looking for new organisers to continue with @josefina-bernardo.bsky.social to keep @rladiesamsterdam.bsky.social the wonderful community it is. If you're in NL and interested, please get in touch! 💜

Kylie Ainslie, PhD @kylieainslie.bsky.social · Sep 2

Last week marked the end of my time at @rivm-nl.bsky.social.

I'm excited to be joining @thedohertyinst.bsky.social and The University of Melbourne as Modelling for Policy Lead!

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